6 punched 7. On Thursday afternoon, the One School Lions went to Liberty to play one of the most anticipated matchups of the season and it would live up to the hype. The previous season, Liberty would beat the Lions in a blowout win and then find their way into the state tournament where they would come in third place.
The game started and Liberty took the field on offense. The Patriots were driving down the field, but Jeremiah Schilling timed up and jumped a route, intercepting the ball and giving the Lions good field positioning.
On the first play of the drive, Chace Crawford threw the ball to Preston Richmond, who initially caught it. However, a hard and illegal hit knocked the ball out and a penalty was thrown for illegal contact. Richmond exited the game with an ankle injury and was sidelined for the rest of the half.
His absence did not stop the Lions, as they would continue to drive down the field and with a first-and-goal. Crawford would throw a touch pass to Braeden Francis in the back of the endzone, giving the Lions a 6-point lead.
Liberty would come back out on offense with a different gameplan, leaning more in the run game and tie the score after a failed extra point attempt.
The Lions would go back onto the offensive, driving to Liberty’s 30-yard line. Crawford would then throw an interception, giving Liberty back the ball with momentum. The Patriots would capitalize on the turnover, taking the lead 12-6.
Near the end of Liberty’s drive, it began to rain, picking up when the possession changed. The weather did not stop the OS offense, as they quickly drove down to the Liberty goal line. However, a loud crack of thunder rang on the field, delaying the game for over an hour.
Once the delay was over, the Lions were able to pick up where they left off, scoring a touchdown with the extra point to follow. They converted the attempt for the first successful extra point to give OS a 13-12 lead.
Liberty would then come down the field and score another touchdown, but they would fail their third extra point attempt of the game, leaving the score 13-18 with four minutes left in the game.
The Lions offense marched down the field once again, getting to the 5-yard line before coach Jared Clark called a timeout. Coach Clark’s play call was a jump ball to Richmond in the back of the endzone.
Backup quarterback Elijah Clark threw the ball to the back corner of the end zone, and Richmond snatched the ball out of the air in front of a defender. The extra point failed, but the Lions captured a 19-18 lead late in the contest.
Liberty would attempt to drive down the field again, but their hail mary attempt was unsuccessful.
OS walked away with the win in their first of two matchups this season. The second matchup is set for Oct. 9.
